Airey Houses

The Airey House is a post-war prefabricated concrete structure which is formed from closely spaced storey-height columns of steel tube reinforced concrete columns to which thin concrete cladding panels are fastened with copper wire.

The properties are not only unattractive but are also extremely difficult to heat due to the poor thermal properties of the concrete slabs. Powys County Council set out to insulate the properties and in the process give them an attractive facelift.

To start with the concrete shiplap panels were levelled using specially formed EPS chamfered wedges to which the insulation could be fixed. Kooltherm Phenolic insulation was then mechanically fixed through the EPS infill panels and into the concrete panels using high performance screw fixings and washers.

A layer of Wetherby basecoat was then applied into which an alkali resistant mesh was bedded. The basecoat was then lightly scratched using a scratch comb to provide a key for the finishing coat. Once the basecoat was dried a layer of coloured Wetherby dashing mortar was applied and finished with a complimentary aggregate spar dash that not only gives a fresh modern look to the properties but also gives a strong protective layer against the harsh winter weather.